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	Catholics Eager to Get to Know New Archbishop Associated Press, carried in Kenosha News November 17, 2009 http://www.kenoshanews.com/home/catholics_eager_to_get_to_know_new_archbishop_6763768.html Local Catholics are hopeful the new archbishop of the Milwaukee diocese will be a good match for the region. The Vatican named Bishop Jerome Listecki, a retired military man who has been outspoken in promoting Catholic issues in political arenas, as the new archbishop Saturday. The Vatican said Listecki, 60, will lead the archdiocese of some 675,000 parishioners and 211 churches, according to a statement from the Milwaukee archidiocese. He will succeed Timothy Dolan, who was named archbishop of New York in February. Listecki will come to the southeastern Wisconsin archdiocese from La Crosse, where he has led the diocese. Prior to his appointment in La Crosse, Listecki was auxiliary bishop in Chicago. The Rev. Al Veik, pastor of Our Lady of Holy Rosary Church in Kenosha, said he knew Listecki in the late 1980s and early '90s when Listecki was teaching at the University of St. Mary of the Lake seminary in Mundelein, Ill. Veik said Listecki was his doctoral dissertation adviser. While Veik said he knew Listecki and respected him, he was especially pleased with the appointment of an archbishop familiar with the challenges the Catholic Church is facing in the Midwest, including cultural integration of parishioners and "resource challenges" including shortages of both priests and finances. "He will have an immediate grasp of those challenges," Veik said. The Rev. Mike Nowak of St. Therese Catholic Church in Kenosha said he was surprised, but pleased, by the appointment. "I like that he's a Midwestern boy," Nowak said. "I'm anxious to get to know him." Dolan said he was excited about his replacement, calling him a good friend and an effective, generous bishop. "Pope Benedict XVI has chosen wisely," Dolan said in a statement. The former Milwaukee archbishop was a popular leader of the church with a warm, outgoing style. Listecki is believed to have a similar approach, which pleases local church leaders. "I was very much wanting that same quality, the ability to reach out, to befriend, to present the Catholic Church in its vitality," said the Rev. Mike Newman, pastor of St. Mary Catholic Church in Kenosha. Outspoken on issues Unlike his predecessor, Listecki, a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, has been outspoken on political issues. He once admonished House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her interpretation of Catholic teachings on the beginnings of life, and earlier this year criticized the University of Notre Dame's decision to honor Barack Obama. He also testified before a Wisconsin legislative committee last month, arguing against a bill that would make it easier for victims of clergy sex abuse to sue the perpetrators. Ray Stroik, a retired professor and college administrator who worked on the La Crosse diocese's justice and peace commission, said Listecki focused on conservative social issues in La Crosse. "He's very strong in terms of Catholic identity, basic issues of pro life, gay marriage, stem cell research," Stroik said. "Yet not doing much on social justice, or global peace." Appointing pastors For some area parishes, Listecki's appointment is likely to have a more concrete impact on church operations. At the joint parishes of St. John the Baptist in Paris and St. Francis Xavier in Brighton parishioners have been operating with a parish administrator rather than a pastor, awaiting the appointment of a new archbishop for the appointment of a pastor. For several months, the joint parish has been under the leadership of a temporary administrator, the Rev. James Vojtik, while the appointed administrator recovers from surgery. "I think they would like to see their priest called a pastor rather than an administrator," Vojtik said. Vojtik said he has been pleased with what he has heard of Listecki. "He sounds like a good man. He sounds like a kind of humble man with a sense of humor," he said. Challenges await Listecki will face a number of challenges in Milwaukee. The archdiocese launched a $105 million fundraising campaign several years ago and expects to hit its target in the spring. But it also faces 14 lawsuits related to clergy sexual-abuse allegations, which could force it into bankruptcy. Through June 30, the archdiocese said it paid out $28 million to settle charges related to clergy sexual abuse.
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